PWHL Boston's veterans boast about the team's culture, and they're ready to welcome a new wave of talent into the fold for season two.
As PWHL Boston continues to shape its roster this off-season, the returning players are looking forward to another chance at the Walter Cup with the addition of some important pieces. Re-signing five of their core members - Lexie Adzija, Hannah Brandt, Sidney Morin, Emily Brown, and Sophie Shirley - has reassured fans and players that the team culture they saw last year will continue. Players spoke highly of the “family” identity and that the draftees would be a big part of the group going forward.
“We want to continue where we left off and we're really excited to meet the new girls that are coming in and get to continue to build that culture,” said Shirley in a recent press call.
Defender Emily Brown said she’s excited to see what the new blueliners bring to the lineup: “I’ve heard nothing but great things about them as far as their on-ice ability and also off-ice, so I’m excited to play with them and just bolstering our back end there defensively will be awesome and I think they’ll add a lot.”
She added, “I’ve asked around and reached out so I’m just really excited to get to know them more and have them join our team,”
Sidney Morin, who played several years in the SDHL, is familiar with their blueline draft pick, Daniela Pejšová.
“I played against Daniela Pejšová for a few years in Sweden – she joined the team (MoDo) the year after I did, so I’ve trained with her a little bit and she’s honestly only gotten better since I first saw her play, and I think that says a lot about her.”
Pejšová had four goals and eight assists in 34 games with Luleå last season, where she was partnered with Ottawa draft pick Ronja Savolainen. She also put up two goals and one assist in the World Championships with Czechia.
“She’s really put her name on the world stage so I think she’s going to be a great addition to our back end,” Morin added. “She can play physical, she can shoot the puck, and she’s very confident in her abilities and I think that goes a long way.”
Hannah Brandt mentioned their first-round draft pick as someone that she’s looking forward to having in their ranks.
“For me, I'm excited about all of our draft picks, forward and defense, and the one that I’ve actually played with is Hannah Bilka and I’m super excited that she’s joining our team. She does a lot offensively obviously, but she’s also a great person. She’s fun to be around so I’m excited for her to be joining the team and excited to hopefully have her score a lot of goals for us this year. We need that!”
“It’s up to us to make sure our teammates feel very welcome in their roles when they join our team," Morin added. "They’re here to compete and we want to get the best out of them.”
“As for me, I’ve played against a lot of the girls that came into this league from Sweden so I’m excited to have some more players from the SDHL join this league and showcase their abilities. I’m really looking forward to having some more familiar faces here with me.”